1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the remote control of lighting systems such as emergency exit signs, on/off fluorescent lighting control, including dimming and those lighting systems in high infrared or electromagnetic induction areas (including such as surgical suites and other medical equipment areas), and particularly to areas having overhead fluorescent lighting.
Emergency lighting, including emergency exit lighting, is required in commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings just as fire extinguishers, smoke alarms and other safety equipment. Three types of emergency lighting are common in such installations: unit equipment, engine generators and central battery systems. Unit equipment falls into two principle types: fluorescent and incandescent. Remote control of lighting systems, particularly those using infrared controllers common to the remote control of electrical and electronic equipment such as television, video recording and stereo tuners, tape drives and compact disk players are typically unreliable in environments with high ambient infrared and electrically induced fields, rendering the convenience and cost effectiveness of such remote control systems unuseable in these high electrically charged fields.
The emergency fluorescent units and exit sign systems are customarily combined with and within a conventional fluorescent lighting unit (luminaire or sign) by merely adding the emergency ballast consisting of a battery, a battery charger, inverter and sensing circuitry adjacent the standard fluorescent ballast. The present invention is also adaptable to incandescent exit lighting which would include a rectifier and battery charger in lieu of the customary emergency fluorescent ballast. In both applications, the sensing circuit observes the interruption of normal AC power to the lamp unit and immediately switches on the emergency power supply which powers the lamp for the required period which, under most state safety codes, is a period of at least ninety (90) minutes, a standard called out in the National Electrical Code, NFPA Article 70, and NFPA Article 101 Life Safety Code. These regulations at NFPA, Article 101, Section 5-9.3 also mandate that periodic monitoring of the ready status of the emergency systems, including a 30 day test requiring 30 seconds of lighting and annual test requiring a 90 minute duration of lighting. An exception is provided for those emergency lighting units which contain a self testing/self-diagnostic circuit which automatically performs a minimum 30 second test and diagnostic routine at least once every 30 days and indicates failures by a status indicator. U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,029 assigned to the assignee of the present invention is illustrative of such a self testing/self-diagnostic circuit.
As is subsequently discussed, the remote transmitter and control circuitry including the microprocessor may be utilized to control lighting systems, such as on/off switching and in dimming control. In such applications, back-up power supplies are not necessary such that the control systems are less complicated.
2. General Background of the Invention
U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,953 entitled Emergency Lighting Ballast for Compact Fluorescent Lamps with Integral Starters, assigned to the assignee of the present invention is illustrative of the fluorescent type of emergency lighting with a ballast. It is common in the installation of emergency fluorescent lighting that an emergency ballast is added to a conventional fluorescent fixture either in original installation or by retrofit. Alternatively, emergency lighting may be provided integrally in a unit having both internal regular and emergency ballasts installed. When main AC power to the lighting fails, voltage sensing circuitry instantly connects DC current from a battery (in the emergency ballast) to an inverter which produces high frequency, high voltage power to illuminate the emergency fluorescent lamp(s) for the required period.
The inclusion of test circuits for emergency fluorescent lighting is common, typically including the Test/Monitor panel, either mounted on a wall in the building, generally adjacent the emergency lamp, or on the case of the fluorescent ballast or fixture. The operation of these types of testing circuits requires the technician to go to the particular location of the test switch for each emergency fixture, which is somewhat time consuming. Such a configuration involves considerable installation cost in that the wall mounted test switch must be wired directly to each fixture to be tested. In the case of test switches located directly on a fixture, though avoiding the extra installation cost of the wall mounted switch, the technician then has to access each fixture individually to initiate the test. This procedure is time consuming since fixtures are often eight to twenty feet above the floor in commercial or industrial buildings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,487 entitled Moveable Desktop Light Controller is illustrative of systems for controlling the on/off status of a lighting system, such as a fluorescent lamp, and the control of the intensity of lighting by the inclusion of a dimmer for fluorescent lighting systems. The illustrated embodiments include such as a body heat detecting infrared sensor and an ultrasonic motion detecting sensor for the information signal to control the lighting. The patent does not directly indicate the specific type or nature of the xe2x80x9cwirelessxe2x80x9d communication is utilized between the sensing device and the controller other than providing that the signal may be radio frequency or infrared. The ""487 patent makes reference to U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,393 entitled Dual Technology Motion Sensor which employs both ultrasonic and infrared detection means to sense the presence of a human and trigger the illumination of area lighting. Dual signals are required to provide additional reliability to the sensing to avoid false triggering of lamp lighting.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,029 entitled Fluorescent Emergency Ballast Self Test Circuit, assigned to the assignee of the present invention is illustrative of a fluorescent emergency lighting ballast which includes an integral self test function. In the described ballast, the testing is a programmed function, carried out independently by the circuitry in the ballast and in the event of a malfunction in the test, a warning light and/or alarm sounds to advise of the test malfunction.
The present invention in its most common form involves the combination of the concept of a type of remote control as utilized with garage door openers, television and VCR machines which activates a specialized monitor circuit integrally connected into the emergency ballast for the fluorescent emergency lamp, back-up power supply for exit lighting or the lamp on/off and dimming control. In the case of the present invention including a remote control test feature, a technician performing the tests, whether the 30 second or the 90 minute variety, may conduct a survey of several emergency fixtures in a xe2x80x9cpoint-click-testxe2x80x9d series while making a tour through a facility, returning It within the required time frame (30 seconds or 90 minutes) to observe that the lamp is still operating in the emergency mode and meeting the requirements of the Life Safety Code. For the emergency exit lighting, the test regimen may be analogous to the emergency lighting with the test initiating signal providing the initiating signal specific to the exit system. In an alternative preferred embodiment, the test unit includes a reset function to terminate any unwanted prior test activation. On reset, any prior test of the emergency ballast to emergency (i.e., battery) function is terminated and the lamp is reconnected to normal AC power, with the battery charging circuit also energized. In those instances where the embodiment of the invention is utilized to control the on/off status of the lighting, or to exercise control over the light output, as by dimming the lamp, the control is usable in a particular or multiple rooms for single or multiple lamps by merely including a control message specific to the lamp or the room.
In the instances of use of the invention for control of a luminaire (incandescent or fluorescent) the IR transmitter is aimed at the detector and similar point and click routine follows to turn the luminaire on or off, or to adjust the brightness of the illumination. The control is particularly effective and useful with fluorescent lights or in areas of high ambient infrared or other EMI fields which otherwise interfere with conventional IR controls.
Prior attempts of providing fluorescent emergency lighting and similar high ambient infrared or similar electrical induced fields with such remote control operation have been unsuccessful. The significant amounts of infrared light (noise) and induced fields produced by fluorescent lamps and related transformers interferes with conventional remote control transmitters and receivers, to the degree that reliable, repeatable drive signals for tests and lamp control have not been possible. Further, the significant amount of infrared noise within the fluorescent fixture has prevented the mounting of a useful detector of the remote test/control signal. The present invention breaks through the infrared noise barrier by using a uniquely coded signal which interrogates the fixture and if analyzed to be of a proper digital pulse train, and upon successful match, initiates the particular requested control or test sequence (30 second or 90 minute) or mode of operation of the lamp. The invention further provides a novel infrared detector housing further enhancing the receipt of the coded signal and novel cabling to connect the detector to the control circuit in the emergency ballast.
It is an object of the present invention to perform selective testing of an emergency power supply ballast of an emergency exit sign system.
A collateral object of the invention is to perform testing in the emergency power supply which closely simulates the emergency function of the exit sign lighting system, verifying that the emergency capability of the system is functional.
A further object of the invention is to provide for remote operation of luminaires, particularly those located in and/or producing high ambient infrared and/or electrical fields without having to directly activate a switch or control located on the luminaire or at a discrete location.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by an emergency exit sign system including a luminaire with either a fluorescent or incandescent lamp, means for delivering main AC power to the lamp from an AC power source; a DC power source consisting of a stored energy supply; rectifier means for recharging the stored energy supply; inverter means connected to the stored energy supply for producing power from current provided by the DC power supply; supplying such power to the lamp when the mains AC power is interrupted and means for deactivating the inverter when main AC power is being supplied to the lamp; a remote infrared transmitter capable of emitting a coded signal for interrogating an emergency system test control; an infrared detector coupled to a microcontroller through a quick connect shielded cable to receive, examine and decode the coded signal, the microcontroller signaling the emergency stored energy supply to supply power from the stored energy source by switching off the mains AC power upon recognition of the coded test signal.
Further objects of the present invention are achieved by a luminaire control system including a luminaire with either a fluorescent or incandescent lamp, means for delivering main AC power to the lamp from an AC power source; a remote infrared transmitter capable of emitting a coded signal for interrogating the luminaire system control; an infrared detector coupled to a microcontroller through a quick connect shielded cable to receive, examine and decode the coded signal, the microcontroller signaling the luminaire control to initiate the on/off status of the luminaire and/or signaling the dimming or brightening status of the luminaire by activating the relevant control upon recognition of a particular coded signal.